Waxwood Series

Getting rid of a family specter means walking into other people's dark rooms…   San Francisco, 1892: Vivian Alderdice is not your typical Gilded Age debutante. She prefers reading books to flirting and long walks in Golden Gate Park to ballroom dancing. But what's a deb to do when she has social obligations and expectations to fulfill?   Then, in the midst of her debutante life, her grandmother dies. The future Vivian thought was so clear is now clouded with confusion and uncertainty.   To make matters worse, a woman shows up at her grandmother's funeral claiming to be an old friend from Penelope's younger days. The young woman she knew was not Penelope Alderdice, Nob Hill socialite and wife to one of the city's biggest shipping tycoons. Penelope was Grace Carlyle, an artist in search of adventure in a small coastal town named Waxwood.   Is the intruder a crank or, as Vivian's mother claims, "confused"? Or is she telling the truth? Now it's not only Vivian's future that is cloudy but her family's past as well.   Vivian's journey takes her into the life of the woman she thought she knew, uncovering family secrets her mother kept hidden for over forty years.   Will Vivian find out her future in her grandmother's past?   Follow Vivian's path to maturity and self-discovery in the first book of this series set during one of America's most turbulent eras.   Get The Specter today and experience the life of a spirited Gilded Age belle guided by a family ghost.   What reviewers are saying: "May's historical fiction picks apart the delicate facade of American gentility in upper-class, well-heeled families on the wild West Coast at the end of the nineteenth century." - Lisa Lickel, author and blogger, Living our Faith Out Loud "Gently told, and forms a good basis for the series to build upon." - Discovering Diamonds: Historical Fiction Reviews "Part gothic fiction, part psychological drama, "The Specter" was a deeply moving & introspective book about one of San Francisco's powerful families set in 1892" "An intriguing and beguiling story." "A fantastic story that will definitely intrigue the reader and pull you into the last page." ~~~ Be sure to check out the rest of the series! False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2) Pathfinding Women (Waxwood Series: Book 3) Dandelions (Waxwood Series: Book 4)

Every young man needs a father figure in his life. Jake just lost his.   Waxwood, 1898: At nineteen, Jake Alderdice loses his grandfather, the only paternal figure he ever knew. His mother expects him to take his place as the new head of the family but Jake hardly has the qualities expected of a Gilded Age patriarch. He is contemplative rather than aggressive, hesitant instead of ambitious, and artistic rather than materialistic. And now, he has no one to guide him.   When the family fulfills Malcolm Alderdice's last request — to visit Waxwood, the coastal town where he wooed and won Penelope Alderdice — Jake befriends an older but illusive man prepared to teach him all he needs to know about Gilded Age manhood.   But is his new mentor all he claims to be? Or is he a wolf in sheep's clothing bent on leading Jake into a diabolical version of the Gilded Age man?   Will Jake discover the true meaning of Gilded Age masculinity or redefine it?   Book 2 of the Waxwood Series is a touching coming-of-age story set during the unsettling years of America's late nineteenth century.   Get False Fathers today and read about Jake's rocky road to maturity.   What reviewers are saying: "This is historical fiction at its best." - Whispering Stories Book Blog   "Tam May knows her stuff and skillfully weaves a tale of a coming-of-age story near the early days of the twentieth century in America." - Lisa Lickel, author and blogger, Living our Faith Out Loud   "I enjoyed this story. I had a hard time putting it down."   "It kept me guessing from the start." ~~~ THE WAXWOOD SERIES The Specter (Waxwood Series: Book 1) Pathfinding Women (Waxwood Series: Book 3) Dandelions (Waxwood Series: Book 4)

Vivian has more in common with her nemesis than she wants to believe.   Waxwood, 1900: For Vivian Alderdice, the twentieth century begins with a new start. Now a working woman and progressive reformer, she's forsaken Nob Hill for the more modest Waxwood. She's laid Penelope Alderdice's specter to rest at last. Granted, her life isn't the one she was born into. Instead of a Nob Hill socialite, she sells strawberry sodas at her friend's drugstore and helps working-class women improve their education. But she has no complaints about the calmness and predictability of her days.   Vivian's peaceful existence is thrown into turmoil when the man who ruined her brother's life appears like another specter she must exorcise.   At first, Vivian hates him with a passion. But when she sees how his own undiscovered past has destroyed him, leaving him helpless in the hands of a cousin who hates him worse than she does, she finds herself feeling compassion for him.   Is it his journey Vivian will discover in the dark forest of guilt and betrayal or her own?   Read the powerful conclusion of the Alderdice family saga set in the enlightened times of the Progressive Era.   Discover for yourself whether Vivian will complete her self-actualization and find peace and forgiveness in the future.   What reviewers are saying: "Author Tam May has done an artful job staying in character and context, scene and setting of this often overlooked and elusive era of modern history." - Lisa Lickel, author and blogger, Living our Faith Out Loud   "With a very interesting and complex main character, an enticing storyline, and wonderful writing this is the kind of story that stays with you after the end of the book."   "This one was a page-turner and I felt caught by the intensity of the story, wanting to turn the page and wondering what might be around the corner." ~~~ THE WAXWOOD SERIES The Specter (Waxwood Series: Book 1) False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2) Pathfinding Women (Waxwood Series: Book 3)

Sometimes the past refuses to stay in the past.   Waxwood, 1899: Vivian Alderdice is twenty-six, unmarried, and has no prospective suitors. Her brother's tragic plight the year before left the family on shaky ground in Nob Hill society. Their social position depends on Vivian capturing the heart of a wealthy Canadian bachelor determined to become a member of their exclusive society. But to win him, she and her mother must spend the summer in Waxwood.   Waxwood brings back memories of Vivian searching for her grandmother's identity and uncovering family secrets she wasn't prepared to deal with, but she's determined to leave all that behind her.   Then a young man she meets on the train brings those skeletons out of the closet again, and Vivian finds herself torn between her fulfilling her social obligations or tracing a past that might lead to uncovering more family secrets.   Will Vivian's summer unravel family truths that might destroy her family forever? Or will those months unearth a more authentic version of herself and where she stands as the new century approaches?   If you enjoy coming-of-age stories with a touch of romance and suspense, read the continuation of Vivian's story set in America's Gilded Age.   Get Pathfinding Women today and read about the summer that will change Vivian's life forever!   What reviewers are saying: "This series is for those who love the era of gentile literature, the Jane Austen and Little Women-type stories of family saga, of noblesse oblige and grasping for status just before the rise of the middle class in America." - Lisa Lickel, author and blogger, Living our Faith Out Loud   "Vivian, the main character is definitely a voice of change and rebellion against the high society expectations that a young woman's sole purpose in life was to pursue and catch the best possible husband."   "This is a fascinating read about the challenge of being a woman who wants her freedom when societal expectations tell them that they shouldn't." ~~~ THE WAXWOOD SERIES The Specter (Waxwood Series: Book 1) False Fathers (Waxwood Series: Book 2) Dandelions (Waxwood Series: Book 4)